Ranking the Creepy & Heartwarming Songs from The Muppet Christmas Carol

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Scrooge (Michael Caine) getting a gift from Beaker, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Scrooge (Michael Caine) getting a gift from Beaker

There is something altogether perplexing that the Muppet version of Charles Dickson’s “The Christmas Carol” is regarded as the best film adaptation of the novel.

However if you take into account that The Muppets excel at blending heart-felt moments with artistry, innovation, and silliness then it’s not surprising. There also a clear reverence for the source material that is clear in making Gonzo the narrator that is refreshing as well as Michale Caine’s depiction of the crotchety, old miser turned upbeat generous gent bout town and his inspired acting choice of playing it completely dramatic against The Muppets.     

All the pieces of this adaption work well, even the pretty darn historical accurate costumes.

But this post is a ranking of the songs from The Muppet Christmas Carol. The songs on the whole are very good and there is no single song that stands out as weak or bad. They are all really good. 

But which song is the best?

That is subjective opinion.  This ranking is my own opinion  and your own may very well differ.  

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! 

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A Definitive and Chaotic Ranking of the Muppet Movies

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Miss Piggy, Muppets Most Wanted, 2014
Miss Piggy with her haul

The Balance of the Sacred and the Silly

I love the Muppets. I cannot recall a time I didn’t love them. I wouldn’t say that i’m “a super fan,” I have not watched every piece of media that they have put out but generally I really enjoy them and especially their movies. 

There have been Eight Muppet Theatrical movies released into the world. The first came out in 1979 and the last one was in 2014. But which ones are the best?

Strictly speaking, I think the movies range from pretty good to amazing. But this is not a ranked list of my favorite Muppets Movies. I have some metics to this for the list, key word is “some.” 

On May 21st 1990 during Jim Henson’s memorial service, Muppet screenwriter Jerry Juhl said in his speech that he will remember Henson “as a man who was balanced effortlessly and quite elegantly between the sacred and the silly.”

This balance of the sacred and silly is the metic I’m going to judge the movies on. Sacred meaning artistry and showcasing innovations of puppetry in film as well as genuine heartfelt moments and sentimentality. Silly is subjective, it differs culture to culture and person to person. However the muppets do have a few hallmarks to the humor. They can be witty, weird, surreal, with lots of running gags, one-lines and of course meta fourth wall breaking. Their humor runs the gamut of chaotic to dryly-subtle. 

While rewatching these movies, two of them maybe tear up and it wasn’t the one I THOUGHT.  

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